Who plays the Heaviest Bass in the business? Why?

[Daz39]

[quote name='pmjos' timestamp='1508438319' post='3392259']
I have an early NT Thumb Sixer and it weighs in at 11 1/2 lbs. When people see it hey say, oohh heavy - I couldn't cope with that. If I take out my Fodera which weighs not much more that a pound less - they say oohh Fodera want my kidney? I say its heavy they usually say that they wouldn't care. (perhaps more graphic expletives).

My point is that unless you have a bad back, are very modest in stature or build or happen to be 83 then whole weight thing is utter nonsense. Ooh I'm a healthy man in my mid 40's oooh 12 pounds!, couldn't possibly carry that across my manly shoulders on a comfortable strap for a whole hour! Skinny little girls carry 18lb toddlers around all day on one arm. Jeez.....man up guys............
[/quote]
Man up? Seriously.

[pmjos]

O so I lied about the Warwick, :-) it weighs just under a metric tonne but that wasn't the point.

[Misdee]

I'm getting backache just reading some of these posts!

My heaviest basses are 9 1/2 lbs, and anything heavier than that would be useless to me personally. I am, however, very weight-sensitive.

What strikes me most is how much weight has become an issue nowadays. Back in the 70s and 80s I really don't remember anybody commenting (let alone whinging) about the weight of basses.

And believe me, there were plenty of boat-anchors about! The shops were full of Kramer, Aria, Ibanez, JayDee, Wal etc. all of which were weighty by today's standards. In those days heavy weight was seen as a mark of quality woods and substantial hardware .But then, men were men in those days!

[chevy-stu]

[quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1508445449' post='3392332']
I'm getting backache just reading some of these posts!

My heaviest basses are 9 1/2 lbs, and anything heavier than that would be useless to me personally. I am, however, very weight-sensitive.

What strikes me most is how much weight has become an issue nowadays. Back in the 70s and 80s I really don't remember anybody commenting (let alone whinging) about the weight of basses.

And believe me, there were plenty of boat-anchors about! The shops were full of Kramer, Aria, Ibanez, JayDee, Wal etc. all of which were weighty by today's standards. In those days heavy weight was seen as a mark of quality woods and substantial hardware .But then, men were men in those days!
[/quote]

I started a post about this a while back, not long after I joined Basschat, as it seemed to be a very big deal on this forum, having never ever heard it being mentioned in over 35 years of playing 1000s of gigs, owning studios, tours etc,...

[totorbass]

[quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1508445449' post='3392332']


What strikes me most is how much weight has become an issue nowadays. Back in the 70s and 80s I really don't remember anybody commenting (let alone whinging) about the weight of basses.

.But then, men were men in those days!
[/quote]

They were soooo high too

[Misdee]

What's more, I don't even remember particularly being aware of the weight of individual basses. Back in the 80's I had a pre-EBMM Stingray. Chances are it weighed at least 10 lbs, going by what vintage examples weigh in at. In my memory, it was weightless!

Nowadays I am just as neurotic as everybody else about bass weight. I have it in my mind that Jazz basses seem heavier than other styles of the same given weight. i.e. a 9lb Jazz bass feels more cumbersome than a 9lb Precision. I know this defies the laws of physics, and yes I probably do need some kind of professional help.

[pete.young]

What a bunch of lightweights. My tenor banjo is 12 Kg.

The heaviest bass guitar that I've seen was one with a marble body, made by a student at Newark as an experiment. I'd guess that was a failed experiment, judging by the number of marble-bodied basses you see these days.

[Painy]

When our lead guitarist and I were at school we built a (horrifically unplayable) guitar together in woodwork. I remember reading in the 'build your own guitar' book that we used as a guide, that someone had built a guitar from a single piece of granite to try and achieve ultimate sustain.
They apparently also had to construct a steel reinforced tripod to support it as it was too heavy to lift.
I think I'll just use a compressor for sustain!

Still don't like a bass to feel too light though personally.

[Skybone]

I remember my old Westone Thunder 1A being a hefty lump. Great sound, but bloody heavy.

[Paul S]

The heaviest bass I have owned was a Washburn Scavenger which was just a whisker over 5kg. I have a massive soft spot for them - something about the symmetry of the body gelled, I liked the fact that it was a Precision sound without looking like a Precision, plus my one was in absolute museum condition. Still miss it, really, and on the rare occasions I have seen them on eBay I almost always stick them on my watch list while considering whether to go for it again. However common sense always prevails as there is no way could I wear one for more than 30 mins without paying for it next day. Plus I don't want any more 4 string basses.